Artificial limb



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Applicatie ined.I :July 24,

T o all whom t may concern."

Be it known that .I,JoHN 1I; EvEnsoN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, andayiresident of Newton, county of-Middlesex; andom-4 monwealth of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in` Artie-ial' Lim-bs, of which the following f description',` in connection with the accompanyingydrawings,isf a specification, like characters onf--the drawings representing like parts.

This inventionrelates to artifieiallimbs, and its aimis to provideaan improvedjlimb, and particularly al hand, having whatmay be termed unusualV gripping orv muscular power with great muscularflexibilit'y.

My invention as illustrated'and described herein, is embodied in; a hand and inthe drawings..

Figure l, is an inside'view; l

Fig. 2, an outside viewv or backl ofthe hand; i

Fig. 3, an end view showing; particularly the knuckles, f

Fig. 4, a vertical sectionaluviewofl Oneof the fingers, and r n Fig. 5 is a diagrammatical-illustration of the position naturally assumed yby the musfk cles of the fingers before theyl are incased in the felt covering forbody.

My novel construction of artificial hand' comprises a body 1, which may berof any suitableI material, preferably wool felt, as the most sanitary, of convenient weightk and texture to give it the necessary firmness, and terminating at its inner end in an arm or sheath 2, offpropei" length to receive the stump or end of the severed arm. Y

The body 1 of the hand may be formed from two layers of felt stitched together at their edges or from one piece, properly slit to permit the formation of the fingers 3 and sewed 'together at the edges of the slit portions,the seams conveniently being made on the opposite sides of thel fingers so that many of them are hidden by the adjoining fingers. If desired, the fingers may be saturated with shellac or liquid rubber and sandpapered to improve their appearance.

The sheath is also formed herein by sewing, not shown, together the edges of the felt member 2, in this kcase the seams on the outside of the thumb and little finger respectively, being continued the length of the sheath.

To provide the fingers with the desirable Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 22,1921.

19172 `SIi1f'N. 132,440;

flexibility; andgripping qualities, they.` are eachnso farwasrdesiredf, provided witha resilientmuscle 4, herein offstiffw wire;

I prefer. tov provide each finger 3 with a vmuscle 4,4 and.findfthat it may-be done satisfactorily bylthe' used; of along wire member or muscle as 5*..

Referring to Figs.l l, 2,/y it`- willV beyseen that muscle 4, of the foren-nger, and muscle 4 ofj the. second lor` middle finger y are f formed from;r the. wire or muscleff, extended sub-` stantiallytheflength ofthe sheathl and nearly aroundythe Vupper end thereof and `Isuitably. anchored thereto as; by stitching the muscle down ,against and to the sheath. l f

I prefer to form a groove Ginthe sheath for thefmuscle eitherfby suitably compressingthe same, orfby cutting out -aportion of they felt sov that the; muscle. may. be partly, at least,ecountersunk therein, down as far as thewrist.` l Byfthis rmeanstlie muscle is less noticeable tothetouch;

Likewise themuscles 4 for the third and little' vfingers are; formed by the wire 7, also extended substantially the length of the sheath, and securedV theretoin the same manneras wire. Byformingthe muscles vfor the fingers from or connecting them with therlongmuscles 5, 7, the finger musclesare firmly anchored and capable of carrying great weight, and'` have.v unusuall lifting power ;v theyare also` prevented from turningyor from becoming` loose., Aty or about theQwristportion 8 I, prefer to embed the wire muscles 5, 7,7in the. felt or body l, and, to assist in holdingthe wires in position in the fingers, I cut away portions thereof or form grooves therein on the inside to receive the wires, as in the case of the sheath 2.

To give great flexibility to the fingers, which is so greatly desired, I have conceived the novel plan of forming a spiral section 9 in each muscle in the body of the' hand. This spiral gives unusual elasticity and flexibility to. the fingers, kand permits the coil feature inthe former case permitting a limited longitudinal motion of the lingers beyond the body of the hand.

Furthermore, by this means I am able t0 impart greater flexibility to the fingers for lateral motion with the same rigidity or gripping quality for holding things between the fingers.

To increase the lateral gripping power of the fingers, I prefer to give the ends or tips of the muscles 4 an initial tension toward each other, and in this case I have shown the muscles of the fore and middle lingers with a tension tending to turn them toward the third finger, and have shown the third and little fingers with a tension tending to turn them toward the fore and middle fingers, thus providing great gripping powers'between any two of these fingers.

To give the required flexibility to the thumb so that it can be moved in any direction, this being more necessary in the case of the thumb than the power of gripping or lifting, I provide the thumb with a muscle, of which the coiled portion extends nearly to the outer end, the straight portion or tip being shorter, thus providing the flexibility which permits bending the thumb in any direction, making it more serviceable. The thumb may be bent completely under the forefinger, thus making it very easy to grip between the thumb and forenger tools, such as chisels, and also to carry similarly shaped articles as lead pencils or pens therebetween, and rmly held in position. I

For attaching the sheath to the arm, Figs. 1, 2, straps l() or any other convenient means may be provided, and they are preferably secured to the muscles 5. 7, thus anchoring them firmly to the wearers body for security and lifting power. Felt is far superior to any of the articles now in use for that purpose, so far as I am aware. Leather and wood, so generally used` are both unsanitary as from the nature of the materials they offer no means for circulation of air, and

ventilation. The result is that after a while, particularly in warm weather, they become sour and unwholesome,

Felt, however, and particularly wool felt, is self-Ventilating and sanitary at all times.

It will doubtless be possible to vary the foregoing construction in many detailed respects all within the spirit of the invention and the appended claims.V

Claims: f

l. An artificial limb of the kind described, comprising a hand member having a plurality of lingerlike members, each member consisting in a wire having one end anchored at a point remote from the fingers and a coiled spring portion intermediate the anchored end and the finger end of saidv wire, felt coverings for each finger and the wire portions in each finger extending beyond the coiled part being tensioned toward each other.

2. An artificial hand having fingers each consisting of a spring wire and a covering of felt over said wire, the wire beingv bent to hold eachfinger in a gripping position and being sufficiently rigid to maintain each finger in said position under relatively heavy strains tending to straighten it, each of said wires having a coiled portion behind the bent portion to enable said linger to yield, and a thumb coperating with said lingers and comprising a spring and a covering of yielding material for said spring.

3. An artificial limb comprising a hand and a forearm, said hand comprising a plurality of fingers each consisting of a wire and a covering for 'said wire, said forearm consisting of a hollow sheath-like body made of heavy felt, and said finger wires being extended backwardly along said forearm and anchored to the outer surface of said forearm.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification. y f

JOI-IN J. EVERSON. 

